Questions and the Quest for Revenge
by daydreamer1227
Summary: Sandy wanted to know what happened while he was out of commission. Nobody ever listened to Jack-And now nobody might ever get the chance to listen to him again, if Pitch had anything to say about it; and Pitch had a lot to say to the boy who ruined everything. When the Guardians discover the truth, it might be too late to apologize. Maybe even 300 years too late.
1. Questions and the Quest for Revenge

"And then, when we thought we were too late, there was Jack with Jamie! He'd come back! And then he got the kids to believe again!"

Sandy clapped silently in excitement as Tooth recounted what had happened while he had been out of commission. Everyone was laughing and smiling as she told the tale; North was lounging in his big red armchair, Bunny was leaning against the wall with a sly grin, Tooth was hovering in the air animatedly while Sandy sat on the floor looking up at her and listening like a child would to a bedtime story.

Jack was not grinning.

Jack was not laughing.

He was sitting on the window sill, as far away from the roaring fireplace as he could manage while still being in the large sitting room of Santoff Claussen. He had his arms crossed and he was frowning: not a usual Guardian of Fun face.

When Tooth stopped talking, Sandy got off of the floor and gracefully hovered up to Tooth's level. He created sand pictures above his head of a closing book and then a question mark.

"Yep, that's the whole story. That's when you came back, Sandy," said Tooth, "You know what happened from there. Now you know everything."

Sandy frowned and shook his head.

"Nah, mate, Sheila's right," said Bunny, "She covered everything."

"Da," North agreed, "Zhat is all of it, right Jack?"

Jack did not answer.

"Jack?" The four Guardians seemed to realize that Jack was actually nowhere near them, and it was Bunny who saw the Winter Spirit first.

"You all right, Frostbite?" he inquired, taking in Jack's melancholy expression.

"Yeah, that's everything," said Jack sarcastically, "You guys pretty much covered it all."

"Jack, what's wrong?" asked Tooth, her smile fading.

"Nothing," Jack sighed. "See you guys later."

"Frostbite, what are ye- hey where're ye- come back! Come on, Frostbite! Jack!" Bunny tried to call the Winter Spirit back but Jack was already out the window.

"I don't understand what's wrong," Tooth said anxiously as she stared out the window with worry. "Do you think we should go after him, North?"

Sandy created sand pictures of a cracked egg, a snowflake, and a map with a question mark on it.

"We told you, Sandy, Jack went after his memories and lost Baby Tooth in the process," said Bunny, frowning at the reminder that his Warren had been practically destroyed. "He could have easily helped us destroy Pitch's nightmares in the tunnels, but he wasn't there."

Sandy made a picture of a mouth, a snowflake, and a book.

"What do ye mean, what was Jack's side of the story?" Bunny asked, irritated. "We know what happened; he went after his bloody memories, that's what!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "But I've forgiven him for it, because he came back an' he helped us defeat Pitch."

Sandy looked furious now; pictures flew above his head so fast that no one even had a chance to decipher what was being said.

"Sandy- Sandy- Ve don't know vhat you're saying, Sandy!" said North, taken aback.

Sandy pointed furiously at Bunny, then made a question mark above his head, then pointed out the window that Jack had recently just left through.

"What do ye bloody mean? I didn't do anything to 'im! I was angry, so I yelled at 'im a bit, but–"

Sandy was the one who felt like yelling now; but being the Sandman, he had to settle with the second best. He conjured up a load of dream sand and hurled it at all three of the remaining Guardians in the room. He did not bother to slow their decent to North's hardwood floors.

How could they not have asked for Jack's side of the story? The reason that Jack was mad was so obvious to Sandy, but then again, he saw things that others didn't. But that was no excuse. Sandy had to fix this. He knew that Jack would not betray them as Bunny had said… he _knew _it. But how could he convince the others?

Tooth Palace, he thought suddenly, the place of memories. Sandy knew that there was a room somewhere in there that held Immortal memories.

Sandy walked over to North who had golden sand reindeer floating around his head. He reached into the big man's pocket and pulled out one of his snow globes.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Jack flew out of Santoff Claussen fuming at the words of his fellow Guardians. How could they still think that he would betray them like that? They told all of those lies to Sandy, the one who he might have been able to get to believe him, but the other Guardians had gotten to him first. Jack had wanted to talk to Sandy alone, to ask him for his advice and to explain himself, but Tooth got so carried away with the story that he never got the chance.

Jack flew at top speed, not paying attention to where he was going, just trying to let the brutally cold wind wipe his thoughts away…

He shouldn't have been surprised to find himself back in Burgess. He landed on his pond, but found himself unable to sit still. He was so restless, and so _tired_; he was so, so very tired of _everything_. He was tired of being accused, ignored, and yelled at. It was just like last time, just like the Blizzard of '68. Nobody cared to listen to his point of view, because everything he does has to be on purpose, he screws everything up, _on purpose_.

What did they think he was, a selfish idiot? Jack had been so scared that night of 68, so scared… Then there was Bunny, and Jack had been so happy, so relieved to finally have _somebody_ be there for him– but Bunny did not come with the comforting words and hope that he was so well known for; no, he came with anger and accusations.

Jack shook his head. Bunny wasn't really like that. If Bunny knew the real story, he would have acted differently. Jack was sure of this, because he knew Bunny now, and he _liked _Bunny. He genuinely and legitimately enjoyed the Kangaroo's company.

If Bunny knew the real story… but Bunny would never know the real story, because Bunny never listened to Jack.

Nobody ever listened to Jack.

"Oh this is just divine."

Jack felt a chill run down his back and he stiffened. This was not possible… how could this be possible…

"It has yet to be a full day since you became a Guardian, and already the emotions rolling off of you are strong enough to summon my presence. Tell me, are the Guardians not treating you well?"

Jack turned around, a death grip on his staff, "What do you want, Pitch?"

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

It took Sandy longer than he would have hoped, but he finally found the room of Immortals in Tooth's palace. It was small and unbecoming, it had to be, because nobody but the Guardians were supposed to know about it and if it was too extravagant, an enemy would surely look there first. Every immortal had a box. They varied in size and form, but they were all there. Sandy searched for a box with Jack's face on it and was surprised at what he found; it was small, no bigger than a shoe box. It weighed a lot, more than it should, as if the memories inside were _so_ heavy to carry. Suddenly Sandy doubted his stroke of brilliance; Jack would surely not want anybody poking into his memories.

There was a moan from outside the door and Sandy knew that the others were waking up. Making up his mind, Sandy took the box outside.

Tooth was the first to wake, and looked around in confusion at her home. "What? Why're we… Sandy, what are you doing with that?" she asked, eyes wide.

Sandy just looked at her sternly, a picture of a snowflake appearing above his head.

"Is that Jack's box?" she asked quietly, looking paler than usual.

Sandy nodded.

"This is a huge invasion of privacy, Sandy," she said slowly, "I don't know if we should be doing this."

Sandy shook his head and held up a finger. He made a picture first of a cracked egg, then an equal sign, then the outline of a nightmare. He made a picture of a snowflake with a large X over it.

"I know it wasn't Jack's fault, Sandy," Tooth said miserably. "You're right, it was Pitch, but Jack still made a mistake, he shouldn't have went for his memories–"

Sandy pictured a stop sign; that along with his glare was enough to shut Tooth up right away.

It was then that North and Bunny both began to regain consciousness. Like Tooth, their eyes were immediately drawn to the box. Bunny sighed and North frowned, but the expression on Sandy's face was not one that could be argued with.

"Those are Jacks?" asked North cautiously, and Sandy nodded.

"I don't think this is a good idea, mate," said Bunny cautiously. "He's really not going ta appreciate this if he finds out. What's the point, anyway? We already know what happened."

Sandy pictured a boy with a growing nose.

"What, you think we don't know what happened?" he asked, affronted. "You weren't even there, mate!"

Sandy pointed at the box.

Bunny sighed, "Fine. Let's get it over with then."

Sandy nodded and slowly lifted the lid.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

"What do I want?" Pitch repeated calmly. He was in bad shape, Jack noted, but surely he should be a bit worse, considering the nightmares that had dragged him away. "Oh, I want _so_ many things, Jack."

Jack stared, body tense. "How are you here?"

Pitch laughed, a loud booming sound, and he seemed genuinely amused. "What, did you think my nightmares would destroy me? Rough me up a bit? Did you think that, after our fight yesterday, I would be so weak that I could not leave my hole? So naïve, Jack."

Jack bristled. "What do you mean?"

Pitch laughed again, subtly moving closer. "You and your precious Guardians destroyed my forces of nightmares, yes. You beat me in a fight, yes. You even managed to restore belief to the children of Burgess." Pitch paused, as if for a dramatic effect. "But Burgess is such a small town, Jack," he said quietly with an evil grin on his face, "And the world is a very big place. Sandy's dream sand didn't fix everything. I still have believers elsewhere, and the Guardians, while not nearly as helpless as I would like them to be, are not yet returned to full strength."

"But… your nightmares, you were afraid, how–? Why didn't they–"

"I was only afraid because I was horribly outmatched," he said bitterly. "There were so few of my nightmares left that I couldn't hope to stand a chance against you and the Guardians. Oh, don't worry, they were… horribly punished for their moments of disloyalty."

Jack took a step back.

He was alone, in Burgess, with Pitch. Pitch, who was supposed to be weak and hiding. Pitch, who was there, now, in as great shape as ever. Pitch, who was feeding off of Jack's fear as they stood there; the fear of an immortal child fueling his power to higher levels than one would ever hope to get from mere mortal children.

Pitch grinned as the waves of emotions rolled off of Jack, empowering him, making him stronger. "You asked me what I want, Jack. Would you believe that all I want from you is a simple piece of revenge?"

Jack's eyes widened in panic and _fear_ as tendrils of nightmare sand attacked from behind. His staff was ripped out of his hands as a strand of the black sand snaked its way around his neck, lifting him off of the ground even as he struggled to breathe.

Pitch was laughing again, and Jack was terrified.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

The four Guardians waited as their surroundings turned white. Soon enough, they heard a voice and the white fog around them began to dissipate, slowly revealing their surroundings.

Jack was flying in the night with Baby Tooth at his side when–

"Jack!" the voice was soft, like an echo.

Jack looked around, startled, a strange expression coming onto his face. "That voice… I know that voice…" The Guardians watched as Jack flew off after the sound and a very worried looking Baby Tooth followed.

Jack landed on the roof of a house, looking around frantically, almost as if it was out of his control.

Realization came upon Tooth in a wave. "Oh no," she whispered. "No, no… This can't be right…"

"What?" asked Bunny, tensing, "What is it?"

"Oh, I feel like such a– But this means that Jack never went looking for his memories. His memories are looking for him."

This did not clear anything up for the other Guardians, but they were distracted by the scene in front of them.

Jack took off of the roof like a rocket as the voice pierced the air again. "Jack!"

Bunny's brow furrowed, "You mean… those are his memories calling him?"

Tooth nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "He never meant to… He _never _would have meant to… How could we possibly think…"

"Jack?" the voice called again as Jack raced through the forest and found an abandoned bed on the ground.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Bunny faintly, recognizing Pitch's lair.

"This wasn't Jack's fault at all," whispered Tooth in horror. "Pitch must have lured him away so that his nightmares could attack the Warren."

"But," said Bunny, "That means he had no idea, so when I yelled at 'im…" Bunny was suddenly swelling with an impossible amount of guilt. "Oh God, I yelled at 'im, Tooth. I practically blamed it all on 'im. An' I scared 'im away. I was... I scared 'im..."

They watched as an infatuated Jack approached the bed, waving a scared Baby Tooth away. "Don't worry, there's still time."

"Don't let him go in there, Baby Tooth," Tooth whished quietly, knowing that it was in vain. "Stop him."

Jack was standing over the bed now, looking down the hole beneath it. He broke away jagged pieces of wood blocking the hole with the end of his staff.

"Ve are 'orrible Guardians," North said in a sad tone. "Ve can't even protect von of our own."

"Jack?" said the voice, clearly emanating from the hole. Baby Tooth looked positively terrified, but Jack was in a sort of trans. Without thinking twice, Jack descended down into the hole.

"Is he a bloody idiot?" Bunny asked, concern lacing his tone. "Doesn't he know that this is where Pitch–"

"No, Bunny, of course not," said Tooth sadly. "He'd never met Pitch before, remember?"

"Baby Tooth, come on!" said Jack, sounding annoyed. "I have to find out what that is!"

Then they saw all of the cages hanging, filled with little fairies. Tooth made a strangled sort of noise when she saw them all locked helplessly away. They began chirping as they saw Jack approach.

"Keep it down," Jack pleaded, "I'm gonna get you outta here just as soon as–"

"Jack?" the voice called again.

"He was going to help them," sniffed Tooth. "Oh, and we said all of those horrible things to him later."

Sandy just sat and watched, growing nervous. This was Pitch's lair, so where was Pitch? Surely Jack would have told them if he had met Pitch on his own.

"Jack!" called the voice.

"I can…" Jack finished his earlier sentence, flying away from the cages in a daze, towards the disembodied voice.

The teeth canisters were all piled in a heap of gold on the floor. Jack rummaged through them, with a panic in his eyes, his want to know, his _need_ to find out who he once was nearly overpowering him.

"He's so desperate," said Bunny brokenly.

"Looking for something?"

"That's Pitch!" Tooth squealed as Jack immediately shot a bout of frost with almost no thought on his part. "Jack was alone with Pitch. How did we not know this? He should have said–"

Bunny's ears drooped back on his head. "Why would he, after all the horrible things I said to 'im?" he asked quietly.

They all watched in tense, unpleasant anticipation. Jack was alone with Pitch. What the hell had happened in there?

Pitch had easily dodged Jack's frost attack and disappeared into the shadows. They watched holding their breath as Jack searched for Pitch, who was laughing quietly in the shadows.

"Don't be afraid, Jack," said Pitch. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The Guardians hardly relaxed. The day they trusted Pitch was the day they all went senile.

"Afraid?" Jack asked, "I'm not afraid of you," he said seriously as he spotted Pitch and slowly walked toward him with his staff raised in front of him.

"Maybe not," Pitch admitted. "But you are afraid of something."

"You think so, huh?" asked Jack doubtfully as he moved even closer.

"I know so," said Pitch incredulously, "It's the one thing I always know, people's greatest fears." Pitch then looked directly at Jack and mocked, "Yours is that no one will ever believe in you," he started moving forward, and Jack, uncertain, moved backwards cautiously. Pitch enveloped him in shadow, and Jack cried out in fear as he was suddenly plunging downward. He landed on the ground, quickly scrambling to find his staff in the dark. When his hands finally curled around the familiar wood, he shot to his feet and spun around, searching for a sign of the Boogieman who was once again out of sight. "And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why."

The Guardians all drew breath as one, terrified out of their minds as they watched their youngest member's terror grow.

"Why you? Why were you chosen to be like this?"

Jack was backed against a wall, looking around in frantic motions as he breathed heavily. Pitch suddenly materialized out of the shadows in front of him, and Jack pressed himself back against the wall, his eyes wide.

"Well, fear not, for the answer to that, is right here," and Pitch held out Jack's memories.

"It was a trap," whispered Tooth. "Pitch knew Jack could destroy his Nightmares, he did it so easily before."

"So he got 'im out of the way," said Bunny softly, looking away in his guilt.

Jack stared at the memory container in shock and longing. "Do you want them, Jack?" Pitch asked, "Your memories?"

Jack slowly reached his hand out, but hesitated, and Pitch took the opportunity to retract the memories and disappear again. The conflict on Jack's face was devastating. Pitch laughed and Jack tried to follow, flying after him.

"Everything you wanted to know… in this little box," taunted Pitch, before laughing again. "Why did you end up like this; unseen, unable to reach out to anyone? You want the answers so badly, you want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid. Afraid of what the Guardians will think. You're afraid of disappointing them." Pitch raised his voice, multiple shadows of himself circling the boy who turned on the spot, trying to find him. "Well let me ease your mind about one thing. They'll never accept you. Not really."

Jack was backing up with wide eyes. He clutched his head, as if to block out Pitch's unwanted voice which resonated from everywhere. "Stop it… Stop it, STOP IT!" he cried in desperation.

Bunny looked broken as he watched the words take hold of the winter spirit. Tooth was crying silently as North could only look on in shock. Sandy felt an overwhelming sorrow and almost just left the memory right then and there so that he could go and find Jack.

"After all, you aren't one of _them_," said Pitch, showing himself again, walking towards Jack who angrily turned to face him and raised his staff in defense.

"You don't know what I am!" he said angrily.

"Of course I do!" Pitch said indignantly, "You're Jack Frost, you make a mess wherever you go. Why, you're doing it right now," he said before tossing Jack his memories who caught it with a surprised hand.

Realization slowly crept onto Jack's face. "What did you do?" he asked in dread.

"You miss the point Jack. What did _you_ do?" he asked with a smile as he backed into the shadows yet again.

Jack let out a cry of rage and leapt after him, but was met with a solid door. He looked around, noticing an absence as he cried, "Baby Tooth!"

"Happy Easter, Jack." Pitch's voice resonated as Jack looked down and noticed the trail of broken Easter eggs.

"No…" Jack muttered.

The four Guardians watched in a daze as Jack returned to the Warren and got scolded by a very angry Bunny. Bunny himself just heard their own words echoing over and over in his head, 'That's why you weren't here? You were with Pitch?' and 'We _never_ should have trusted you!' He had said that last one. He had said that to _Jack_. Bunny's ears drooped as he looked at the ground.

Sandy watched in growing disappointment as each of the Guardians turned away from Jack, who looked so sad, and so lost. He had half a mind to reprimand them, but he could see the guilt and regret on their faces.

They watched as Jack flew. He was distraught and scared, and it was tearing them apart. They could only imagine what Jack was thinking. He ended up in the frozen wasteland that was Antarctica. He ran to the edge of a cliff and readied his arm to heave his memories as far as he could.

Tooth gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth in her shock. The memories that teeth held were precious, and to be protected, but Jack was so upset that the one thing he had wanted more than anything else was about to be thrown to be lost in the bitter cold lands. Once he had lost the trust of the Guardians, he had basically given up.

As determined as he was, he couldn't make himself release the memories. Instead he lowered his head and shut his eyes in defeat and hopelessness.

"I thought this might happen."

Bunny's ears fell flat against his head as he heard that voice. Hadn't Pitch already done enough damage? What the hell was he doing there? He snarled as he turned to face the Boogeyman, wishing more than anything, at that moment, that he were actually there so he could tear the bastard apart. He wanted to rage at Pitch, to keep him away from Jack, because each step closer the Boogeyman advanced towards the Guardian of Fun made Bunny's hair bristle.

"They never really believed in you."

Tooth shook her head. "Don't believe him, Jack," she pleaded the broken spirit in front of her, even though she knew he couldn't hear. "Don't listen."

"I was just trying to show you that."

"He is manipulating him," said North in growing anger and concern. What exactly did Pitch want from Jack?

"But I understand."

Bunny took a desperate step forward as Jack launched himself at Pitch with a furious and somehow desperate yell, "You don't understand _anything_!"

The Guardians flinched with each blow that fell as the two fought furiously. "I don't know what it's like to be cast out?" asked Pitch. "To not be believed in? To long for… a family?"

Jack stopped fighting and relaxed his stance almost against his will as his expression turned to one of shock.

"Low blow," said Bunny in a growl. He hadn't understood what Jack must have been feeling for 300 years alone, not believed in; but after yesterday, when that child ran straight through him... and it had _hurt_... he thought he had some idea. Now there was Pitch, taunting Jack when he was weakest.

"All those years in the shadows and I thought no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see I was wrong. You don't have to be alone Jack. I believe in you. And I know children will too."

Sandy's eyes widened as he realized what Pitch was doing. Bunny drew in a quick breath, having realized it too.

"Can you imagine what would've happened if Jack had joined Pitch?" Bunny asked quietly.

"We would have lost," Tooth said in a whisper. "We would have lost _everything_."

They grew silent as they realized the full repercussions that their actions could have had. They hadn't known…

"In me?" The hope and longing in Jack's voice was another eye opener. Here was Pitch, offering Jack everything he had ever wanted, and Jack had said no… he _must _have said no, because Jack had helped them, the Guardians who had cast him aside, instead. His faith in them while they had held none in him was… unexpected.

"Yes!" Pitch cried. "Look at what we can do? What goes better together than cold and dark? We'll make them believe! We'll give them a world where everything– _everything_– is–"

"Pitch Black?" Jack asked in anger and disgust.

Pitch's smile froze on his face, realizing his mistake. "And Jack Frost too," he said, trying to make it up, "They'll believe in both of us."

"No," said Jack angrily, "They'll _fear_ both of us. And that's not what I want." Jack began walking away, back turned. "Now for the last time, leave me alone."

Jack, with his back turned, did not see the scowl creeping onto Pitch's face.

"Uh oh… Crikey that doesn't look good." muttered Bunny, knowing that Pitch was about to try _something_. "Run, Jack. Get out of there."

"Very well. You want to be left alone? Done. But first…" Pitch lifted his arm and held out Baby Tooth, who was squeaking and writhing in Pitch's tight grip.

Tooth screamed the same time as Jack, "Baby Tooth!"

Jack shot forward, readying his staff, wanting to attack, yet unable to with Baby Tooth in such a precarious position.

"The staff, Jack," demanded Pitch.

The Guardians froze. Jack looked dumbfounded.

"You have a bad habit of interfering," Pitch explained. Since Jack wouldn't join him, he was going to take him out of commission. "Now hand it over, and I'll let her go."

"Do you think he'll do it?" Bunny asked, watching warily.

Sandy nodded sadly; of course Jack would do it.

Baby Tooth shook her head frantically, and Tooth managed a small smile.

Jack looked at his staff, furious, before flipping it around and handing it to Pitch. The white frost vanished along with Jack's touch. "Now let her go," he ordered with a glare.

"No."

"What," growled Tooth.

Jack looked shocked, honestly not having expected Pitch to go back on his word.

"You said you wanted to be alone, so _be_ alone!"

Baby Tooth was furious. She stabbed Pitch with as much force as her little body could muster. The Guardians' cheers of appreciation quickly turned to ones of horror as Pitch whipped Baby Tooth with all of his strength into a wall of ice, where she squeaked and fell into the crevice.

"NO!" Jack's scream tore at their hearts; Baby Tooth was all he had left at the moment, as they had abandoned him.

What happened next shocked them all into the next world. Pitch brought up his knee and snapped Jack's staff in half.

Jack screamed and grabbed at his chest as he felt a horrible burning pain, as if he were being torn apart from the inside. The Guardians could hardly breathe through their terror.

Before Jack even had a chance to recover, before he could do _anything_, Pitch sent a wave of black nightmare sand at him, knocking him against the ice before he fell down into the gorge. He hit the ground, and didn't move for one long horrifying moment.

Bunny seethed as Pitch threw the two broken halves of Jack's staff down after him, laughing, before turning away, potentially leaving Jack to die. There was a strange sensation in his chest, and Bunny didn't know what it was at first, but when he looked at Jack who was moving, _thank God he was moving_, he knew: he was _worried_. Him, Bunny, worrying over Jack Frost.

"Did anyone think to check Jack over for injuries?" asked Bunny softly.

Tooth looked up, "No," she answered sadly, "I thought, if he were injured, he would have said–"

"I thought so too," said Bunny with a shake of his head, "I'm startin' ta' think we were wrong."

"Baby Tooth!" Jack cried in worry as he scooped her into his pale hands. "Are you all right?"

Baby Tooth curled into a ball and shivered and Jack seemed to visibly deflate as he let defeat claim him. "Sorry," he said sadly, "All I can do is keep you cold." Jack slumped back against the ice wall, "Pitch was right…" he said softly, "I make a mess of everything."

"I can't believe it…" Bunny muttered as the memory ended and faded away, returning them to their surroundings of Tooth Palace. "Jack gave up. Pitch got to 'im, after everything."

A stubborn tear ran down Tooth's face and she clumsily wiped it away with the back of her hand. "We were so horrible to him, North!" she whispered.

North looked down and nodded. "Ve 'vere," he agreed in a melancholy tone.

Sandy just stared in shock at the now closed box. How had Jack fixed his staff? Why had he come back to help when he had been cast out? He had so many questions, so many things that he needed to know. He needed to talk to Jack.

"Well you guys were all right," Bunny muttered in self loathing. "I was so terrible to 'im. Don't you get it? I was downright bloody _awful_. I yelled at him. Crikey, I almost _hit_ him… I was just– I was so angry– I didn't know what to do with myself– bloody hell, I really screwed up this time. I didn't realize it before; I didn't _see_ how scared he was when he came back to us…Why the hell didn't I _see_?"

Sandy created a sand snowflake above his head.

They all agreed. They needed to find Jack. _Now_. They needed to find him, and they needed to apologize.

It was with a sickening feeling that Bunny came to the conclusion that maybe Jack had been accused of a lot of things that he didn't do… that for 300 years, nobody would listen to him. _We're here now, Jack,_ he thought desperately as North pulled out a snow globe, _we're here now, and you can tell us anything, and I promise that we'll listen this time. I'll listen. I promise. _

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

The nightmare sand had torn Jack's staff away from him and held him in a deadly grip around his neck as he struggled to breathe. The sand lifted his feet off of the ground, completely cutting off his air. Jack frantically tried to pry the sand away from him as he kicked and thrashed in its hold, but it was no use. Pitch just laughed; Jack's staff now in his possession as he twirled it in his hands.

Jack's terror kept growing as he clawed at his neck, trying to get in a breath. Pitch inhaled deeply as he felt the fear strengthening him, empowering him. Suddenly Jack's movements began to slow and his eyes drooped ever so slightly. His arms grew weary and dropped to his sides.

Pitch made his sand adjust its hold. He didn't want the Winter Spirit dying on him just yet. The sands let go of their suffocating hold on Jack's neck and fluidly split into two strands, each claiming one of Jack's thin wrists. They spread his arms open, tight to the point that it was painful. His feet were once again planted on the ground, but they were bent with fatigue. His head was slumped forward so that his chin rested on his chest, and his breaths came in desperate and painful gasps.

"This is a sight I could get used to," Pitch chuckled darkly. "Jack Frost, unarmed and restrained before me. Oh, the possibilities are endless."

Jack flinched back as Pitch was suddenly in front of him, lifting his chin and forcing him to look into those cruel, golden eyes.

"You told me once that you weren't afraid of me, Jack," said Pitch softly. "I beg to differ. I feel your fear. You know that I could do anything right now, and you'd be powerless to stop me."

Jack stared back defiantly, but Pitch was not fooled.

"You can't hide it from me, Jack," Pitch whispered in his ear, making him shiver. "Like I said before; it's the one thing I always know." He backed away, and again began examining Jack's staff. "I do believe I remember breaking this… odd…"

"No, don't–"

Pitch snapped the staff over his knee.

Jack let out a cry as the pain washed over him. Pitch smirked as Jack panted, sweat appearing on his brow. He swiftly moved forward and placed a hand on Jack's forehead, grinning when he felt not cold, but _heat_.

"You seem to be getting a bit of a fever, Jack," he mocked. "The Guardians really aren't treating you well."

Jack just groaned, the painful stabbing from the breaking of his staff still present.

Pitch fisted a clump of Jack's snow white hair and yanked his head back, causing Jack to whimper softly. "Where are your precious Guardians now, Jack?" he breathed into his ear. "Why aren't they here when you need them, hmm?" He let go of Jack's hair and took a step back. "Where are they, Jack?"

Jack refused to look at that stupid, smug expression on Pitch's face. He stared determinedly at the ground, lying to himself, telling himself that the Guardians were on their way.

Pitch began circling Jack, passing through the nightmare sand that restrained him as if it were air. He tossed the two halves of his staff to the ground as he stared at Jack. "So many possibilities…" he whispered in delight. He stopped in front of Jack yet again and lifted his hand slowly towards the struggling spirit. His hand wrapped around Jack's neck, applying a slight pressure; not enough to cut off all air, but enough to make breathing more than uncomfortable.

Pitch grinned as he watched Jack struggle. Experimenting, he tightened his grip, making Jack's eyes widen. He savored the radiating fear before letting him go with a soft laugh as the boy began gasping again.

He caught Jack looking longingly at the two pieces of his staff that lay on the ground. Pitch felt an idea forming in his head. He reached down and picked the halves back up, grinning to himself as he saw Jack stiffen. "What's the matter Jack?" he asked in mock concern. "Don't want me to do _this_?"

Pitch snapped both halves again, leaving four quarters.

Jack's scream was four times as loud, four times as painful, filled with four times the agony. He drooped against the nightmare sand holding him up, it now being the only thing keeping him on his feet. The scream ended, but the pain stayed. He panted, more sweat appearing on his brow. His eyes were clenched shut, and he occasionally let out a pained moan.

Pitch motioned for his sand to release the winter spirit, who dropped to the ground like a stone. He watched as Jack clenched his teeth and curled himself into a ball, clutching at his stomach, trying to ease the agony. He made a motion to get up, but only made it to his hands and knees before he collapsed again with a groan. He turned his head and looked up at Pitch with watery eyes, blinking slowly.

The sight really was pitiful.

Pitch reached down and picked Jack up by the front of his hoodie, the sudden movement causing the boy to cry out. "Jack Frost," he said softly. "Forsaken by his friends. All alone. Not believed in. Uncared for. Unwanted. Unloved."

Jack growled, struggling weakly.

"The Guardians don't care about you Jack. They didn't spare you a second glance these past 300 years; why would that change now?"

"You… You're wrong, Pitch," said Jack hoarsely.

"Am I?" he chuckled. "Then why aren't they here, Jack?" he paused to let that sink in. "They don't want you."

"The hell we don't!" said an angry voice from behind them.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

"Where could Jack be?" asked North.

"This isn't working; we need ta split up, mate," Bunny suggested.

North frowned, not liking the idea, but agreed. Sandy and Tooth were searching Antarctica, figuring that he may return there. North opted to go back to the North Pole and search there in case Jack had returned. Bunny decided to search in the small town of Burgess.

Bunny tapped his foot twice on the ground, causing a hole to appear out of nowhere. He jumped down and began racing through his tunnels. He needed to find Jack. He needed to apologize.

Bunny knew that he was fast, but still he cursed the time that it took for him to reach Burgess. First he searched the town, asking Jamie if he had seen Jack. Jamie immediately looked excited and asked if Jack was supposed to stop by, which gave Bunny his answer.

He decided to search the woods next, before reporting back to North to see if anyone else had found Jack.

As he neared the heart of the woods Bunny felt the temperature steadily grow colder, and knew that he must be getting close. He sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of the winter spirit, but froze when he smelt not only Jack, but _fear_. He proceeded forward with caution, ears erect and listening for anything out of sorts.

He stiffened when he heard a voice that made his hand instantly twitch towards his boomerang.

"The Guardians don't care about you Jack. They didn't spare you a second glance these past 300 years; why would that change now?"

In all unlikelihood it was Pitch. Pitch was alone with Jack _again_. Remembering painfully what had transpired the last two times that Jack and Pitch had been alone, Bunny crept forward quickly, wanting to avoid being seen, but not wanting to waste any time in helping Jack.

"You… You're wrong, Pitch," said Jack in a horribly hoarse voice.

Bunny felt his fur stand on end when he finally saw them. Nightmare sand littered the ground around them, and Pitch held a weak and trembling and _terrified_ Jack Frost. Bunny was dumbfounded by the amount of fear that was assaulting his nose, and he could guess that it wasn't Pitch's.

"Am I?" he chuckled. "Then why aren't they here, Jack?" he paused to let that sink in. "They don't want you."

"The hell we don't!" Bunny spat angrily, pulling out his boomerang in a swift stroke.

Pitch swung around and narrowed his eyes in a calculating way. "Rabbit," he acknowledged shortly. "How're your eggs doing?" he mocked.

"Don't play with me, Pitch," Bunny growled threateningly. "Now let Jack go."

"I don't think I will, actually," said Pitch with an air of disinterest.

"_Pitch,_" demanded Bunny, knowing that he wouldn't be able to restrain himself from attacking for long. The anger that he was feeling was almost overwhelming.

Pitch tightened his hold on Jack, who winced at the pressure. "Oh, I'm terrified now," he said in a mocking tone, "Whatever can I do? It's a rabbit with a boomerang," Pitch chuckled darkly.

"Don't patronize me. Now, let. Jack. Go."

Pitch maneuvered so that Jack was between himself and Bunny, acting as a shield in case the Pooka warrior decided to do anything rash. "I don't understand," said Pitch with a small laugh, "You're ordering me around like you are actually in a position of control." He shook Jack a little for emphasis and spoke on through Jack's cry of pain at the movement, "I believe that I hold all of the cards here, Rabbit. The only card that matters, anyway."

"Jack?" said Bunny in a gentler voice, "Jack, you're gonna be okay. Do ya hear me, ya gumby? I promise, you're gonna be okay."

"A bit late for that, Rabbit," said Pitch in annoyance, "Finders keepers. Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Pitch, ya stinkin' rat-bag, I oughtta–"

"Yes, yes, enough with the empty threats. Truth is you can't do anything; not while I have _him_." Pitch shook Jack again for emphasis.

Bunny stood there, rigid with fury but not daring to release the boomerangs that he so longed to let fly. "Let 'im _go_."

Pitch made a mockingly thoughtful expression, "Hmm, no, I don't think I will. You see, this boy is the real reason I lost yesterday." His voice turned venomous with loathing and anger, "_Not_ you, _not_ the other Guardians, but this boy _right here_. I think it's about high time that he paid for it."

"Jack hasn't done anythin' to deserve–"

"He has done _everything_," Pitch spat, "And he deserves every last thing that I am going to do to him."

"You are not gonna lay one more _finger _on 'im," Bunny growled.

"No? And just what's going to stop me? What's to stop me from- oh, I don't know- breaking his leg? Or his arm? I could, you know. I could do it right now. And there is nothing you can do. Because if you try anything, if you take even one step closer, I'll _end_ him before your boomerang ever even has a chance of reaching me."

"You kill him, it will take more than what's left of your nightmares to scrape what's left of you off the ground," said Bunny dangerously.

"You speak as though his death is in any way an acceptable outcome for you," observed Pitch with a smirk, knowing that he had the upper hand.

Bunny did not move and did not speak; he just glared, his arm still raised above his head with a boomerang clutched tightly in his hand.

"You know, I'm in the mood for a little _fun_ right now," said Pitch, and Jack's flinch did not go unnoticed by either the Nightmare King or Bunny. "So if it's all the same to you, I'm going to take Jack and have a little- _FROST! _You've just made things five times worse for yourself, boy!"

Jack had managed to get in a well aimed kick at Pitch as he spoke, and Pitch dropped him in shock and pain as he clutched at his midsection. Jack scrambled backwards on the ground towards Bunny, trying to get himself away from the Nightmare King.

Bunny didn't miss a beat; he let his boomerang fly as he dashed forward to get to Jack. The boomerang did not meet its mark, but Pitch did have to dodge clumsily out of the way. He cursed as he turned back to see Bunnymund reaching down for Jack.

"No you _don't_," Pitch growled, sending a burst of nightmare sand forward, blasting the rabbit backwards.

"No!" Jack cried out in anguish as he watched Bunny's head collide with a rock and his body go limp. Jack painfully and unsteadily forced himself to his feet. He stumbled forward, trying to reach his friend when–

"I don't think so, Frost," a voice growled as he was yanked backwards by his hood.

"No- lemme _go_\- Bunny! Bunny, _wake up_!" Jack struggled, but Pitch managed to get his hands around the small wrists, effectively stopping him from landing a blow. Jack glared up at the man before him, trying desperately to twist his wrists out of the Boogeyman's grasp. The golden eyes glared at him with such hate that Jack couldn't help the spike of fear that sent his heart racing. Judging by the satisfied twitch of Pitch's mouth, he had felt it too. "Bunny," Jack pleaded, even as he was unable to look away from the dark man before him, "_Please_."

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Bunny woke with a groan and a pounding head. He laid there for a minute, trying to gather himself, when he was struck by sudden clarity.

"Jack!" he called, without even meaning to, as he quickly sat up. He blinked a few times, trying to ignore the pain in his head as he looked around.

Pitch was gone.

And so was Jack.

All the evidence that remained from the encounter were stray bits of black sand lingering on the ground or in the light breeze and the four shards of wood that were once Jack's staff.

A horrible sensation took control inside of him, and Bunny suddenly felt like he was sick to his stomach. Pitch had Jack. Pitch had taken _Jack_.

"Aw, no," said Bunny with wide eyes; the fear that now settled inside of him was eating away at him more with each passing second. Bunny's eyes wandered unconsciously to the remnants of Jack's staff; a painful reminder of why he had come looking for the kid in the first place.

He had so many questions.

And he had so many apologies.

Jack Frost, the boy that had been a thorn in Bunny's side for almost as long as he had been a spirit. Jack Frost, the boy who caused blizzards and miserable cold. Jack, the boy who was alone for three hundred years without a soul to talk to. Jack, who, despite their past behavior towards him, had helped them defeat Pitch anyway. Jack, who had, against all likelihood, become his friend. Jack, who was now in the hands of the enemy.

Bunny carefully collected the pieces of the staff. Jack had fixed it before. Bunny didn't know how, but the kid had done it, and he could do it again.

He would do it again.

Just as soon as Bunny got him back.

But first, he had to get the other Guardians.

A/N: This is my first ROtG work- let me know if it is worth continuing and I am grateful for any and all feedback.


	2. The Patience of an anti-saint

Pitch was in a silent rage. If the boy didn't stop struggling, Pitch would finish the brat off, even if it did put a damper on his plans for the afternoon.

Jack's glare could rival his own, "Let me go," he snarled.

Pitch knew that Frost was worried about the Pooka, and he couldn't help the small curl of his lips. "I do hope your actions haven't taken the rabbit out of commission permanently, Jack, as I do rather enjoy hassling him during the holidays."

As Pitch had hoped, that shut the boy up relatively quick. It was obvious by his sharp intake of breath and sudden stillness that Jack had not considered the possibility of the Pooka not waking. That had looked to be a nasty blow to the head. Pitch knew, of course, that the rabbit was awake, and rushing frantically to the pole to call the other Guardians– Pitch could feel the tendrils of fear from the bunny, after all, and they were delicious–

"Bunny is fine," growled Jack, and Jesus Christ, didn't the kid ever shut up? "Which is more than I can say for you once the Guardians get here."

Pitch tightened his hold on Jacks forearm bringing forth a wince and a defiant tug against his grip. Jack had not stopped fighting him since they had left Burgess. Without his staff, Jack was only a skinny child, and really held little hope in a fight against Pitch, even if the boy were at full strength. Which Jack most definitely wasn't. The breaking of his staff had hurt him, and he was burning with fever, but none of this did anything to stop the mouth that did nothing but threaten and insult Pitch.

"It's a good thing you broke my staff," said Jack with a smirk that had Pitch grinding his teeth, "Good for you, I mean, because we both know that you can't beat me in a fair fight."

Pitch stopped the cloud of black nightmare sand that was whisking them through the woods towards his lair that did not reside in Burgess and shoved Jack against the side of a tree. He pressed the boy's back into the bark with a fist to his small chest. Jack choked on his breath and grimaced. Pitch watched with a dark satisfaction as the boy tried and failed to shove him off with his tiny, furious fists.

"It is not wise," said Pitch in a voice that shook with his anger, "To poke _fun_ at the Boogeyman, Frost."

Jack looked up with dark eyes and smiled, "It's not poking fun if it's true."

Pitch's grip tightened around Jack's hoodie, but Jack was nothing if not persistent.

"You said it yourself, big man," he continued past a wince, "I'm the reason you lost, right?"

"I have trouble fathoming how such a pathetic child managed to thwart me," Pitch said in a low voice that promised nothing good for Jack Frost.

"Yeah, I know," said Jack, and that damned cocky grin was back, "I'd be pretty embarrassed if I were you."

Pitch heaved Jack towards him then shoved him with twice as much force back against the tree. Jack cried out in pain and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to breathe his way through it.

Jack had struck his blow, it was time for Pitch to strike his.

"You keep threatening me with the Guardians, Jack, but you'd think that after three-hundred years alone, you'd be able to fend for yourself."

Jack's eyes snapped open.

"Seems like we both expected more from ourselves."

Frost's eyes had darkened, and Pitch knew that he had struck a nerve.

"I _can_ fend for myself," Jack denied in a low voice.

"Oh, can you?" asked Pitch softly.

"I can," he immediately shot back, like a petulant child.

Pitch released Jack's hoodie and instead grabbed one of Jack's tiny wrists. He twisted the boy around and shoved his front against the tree instead, twisting his arm up behind his back. "I beg to differ," he said, putting an alarming amount of pressure on Jack's arm and shoulders, but he could hardly be blamed, the kid brought out his worst side.

"I know what you're doing," Jack hissed through the pain. Jack was turning his head, trying to look behind him, and Pitch knew that it was driving him crazy, not being able to see what was happening behind him. "And it won't work. The Guardians will come. And we both know that the only reason you're doing this is because you're a sore loser."

Pitch inhaled an incensed breath. "In what state of mind do you live in that you think demeaning me will in any way turn out well for you?"

"Does it matter?" asked Jack, who was getting short of breath, with the pressure Pitch had on him pressing into his lungs. "You hate me, I hate you. You're going to do whatever it is you're going to do, whether I call you names or not. Doesn't change the fact that you're a pansy-assed loser who couldn't defeat a– wait, what did you call me? A pathetic child? Harsh. Well if I'm pathetic, you must be a downright disappointment, considering–"

Pitch swung Jack around and backhanded him across the side of his face.

The boy went down.

Pitch rubbed the pain out of his hand. "You should really learn to hold your tongue," he said lightly as he watched Jack groan and maneuver his way to his hands and knees. The boy's head was down, so Pitch could only see the back of his snowy white head. "Before I do something irreparable."

Jack turned slightly and looked up at him, and Pitch felt immense satisfaction upon seeing the heavy trail of red blood that steadily ran from his nose. Pitch had not hit the boy's nose– the growing bruise on the side of his jaw was testament– but the jarring impact had clearly been a bit more forceful than Pitch had intended.

Pitch found that he really didn't care.

Frost could test the patience of a saint, and Pitch would be the first to admit it, he was definitely no saint.

He'd been saving his revenge for the cover of the lair where he didn't have to worry about the Guardians swooping down on them at any moment– but Pitch found himself losing control.

Damn Frost. They didn't have time for this.

Jack looked up at him from under those eyebrows of his and he was bleeding and bruised and feverish and staff-less and _beaten_– but he was smiling again.

Pitch found his hands curling into fists against his will.

"So where exactly is this little revenge tantrum of yours going to leave me?" Jack asked. "Dead? Stranded in a glacier in Antarctica? Unconscious in a cell? Not that you have cells, unless– Do you have cells? I'll bet you do. You put all of those poor tooth fairies in cages, what's to say you don't have a cell? That's it, isn't it? You're going to lock me in a cell, and leave me there forever. God, that is so creepy. I'm afraid I can't give you points for originality, Pitch, this is all a bit cliché–"

"Would you _shut up_!" Pitch roared.

Jack's grin widened, "Well, look at that, you really don't like me, do you? I always thought that you were more even tempered than this."

Pitch took a calming breath, "Get up," he ordered.

Jack struggled to get to his feet, and Pitch decided to speed up the process. He grabbed Jack roughly by the upper arm and forced him to his feet with a tight grip that would surely bruise.

Jack hissed and tried to pull away, but Pitch yanked him back again, the word 'gentle' not in his repertoire. He released Jack's arm and stood to his full height, which made Jack take a small, hesitant step back before he realized what he was doing. Pitch grinned at this display of fear, and Jack swallowed.

"You want to know what I am going to do to you, Jack?" Pitch mused dangerously. "You're going to have to wait and find out. Not knowing is killing you. I feel your fear, Jack, and I know that every single one of those cliché suggestions that you mock makes your blood run cold. Just know this: whatever it is that you have in mind? I have something in my mind five times worse. Dwell on that, Frost, while we finish our journey." Jack opened his mouth to speak, likely to say something stupid and irritating, and Pitch snapped his fingers. A strand of black sand wrapped itself around Jack's mouth. "In silence, if you would. I've had just about enough of that flippant tongue of yours."

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Bunny slammed his hand against the Borealis summoning button again. How long does it freaking take to get to the North Pole?

Bunny's head was pounding something fierce, but he refused to think about it. Pitch had gone for Jack, and Bunny hadn't been able to stop him.

Pitch had Jack.

Bunny slammed the button down again.

Where would Pitch have taken him? All Bunny knew was that Pitch had some outlandish revenge scheme planned– not against him and the other Guardians, but against _Jack_–

Bunny punched the button.

The youngest, newest guardian. The guardian that made Bunny's hackles rise and his self control slip, but damn-it, Bunny cared about the kid. And Pitch had–

Bunny hit the button.

Pitch had–

Bunny hit the button again–

"Bunny! It vorked the first time! Don't break my stuff vhen I'm not home–"

"Shut it, North, we gotta problem."

"Of course ve have problem, ve still have not found Jack, no? I vas searching ze pole vith ze yetis when you called. Ees Jack still lost?"

"He ain't lost, North," said Bunny, trying to reflect his urgency into his voice so that North could know– so he could _understand_– just how bad things were. "Pitch got 'im."

North froze. His voice lowered into softness the way it always did when he was serious about something. "Vhat?"

"Pitch. Has. Jack!" Bunny said pointedly.

North's eyes were impossibly wide. "But– how did–"

Bunny pulled the pieces of Jack's staff from his pack. "I dunno, mate, I didn't see the whole thing, but Pitch, he– he must've broken Jack's staff again. It was all over by the time I got there. You shoulda seen 'im, North, practically beggin me for help with those eyes of his and I couldn't do anythin'. Got myself knocked out by Pitch, the bloody bastard."

North looked down, "Zhis ees... not good."

"No shit, North" Bunny shot back.

"If Pitch is taking his revenge on us out on Jack–"

"No," said Bunny shaking his head, "That's not what he's doin', North, this isn't about us. This is about Jack. Pitch completely blames Jack for this one."

North swore in Russian and Bunny would have joined him if he knew the language.

Tooth and Sandy then flew through the window.

Tooth flew around excitedly, "Did you find him? Where is he? How is he? Is he all right? Are his feelings hurt? Did you apologize already?"

"Tooth," said North gravely, and his tone had her instantly hovering in front of them, a despondent expression on her face.

"What?" she asked. When North had to look away, she floated down to the floor and folded her wings behind her. "Oh, God, North, what is it? Bunny? What's wrong? Where's Jack?"

Baby Tooth floated up by Tooth's side, and Bunny swallowed. Baby Tooth would be crushed.

Sandy floated over to their sides, confused and afraid. Three sandy images appeared above his head: a snowflake, a map, and a question mark, and Bunny almost couldn't bring himself to answer, but North couldn't even bring himself to look at them.

"Jack's not–" Bunny choked a little, "Jack's not here, Sandy."

"Bunny," said Tooth, "Where is he?"

Bunny's ears fell flat against his head. "Pitch took 'im."

Tooth blinked a few times with shaking hands. "What? But Pitch– I don't understand–"

"Pitch has Jack," said Bunny, "And he ain't bein' nice."

"But... but we didn't get to apologize," she protested, as if Pitch should care, "We didn't get to tell him we're sorry."

Sandy looked angry. Pitch had taken an unhealthy interest in Jack, Sandy had seen it, in the memories, but he had also seen it when he had first come back from the void that Pitch had sent him.

Pitch had been circling the Guardians as shadows, and when their backs had been turned, he'd advanced on Jack with his scythe of black nightmare sand.

He'd been going in for the kill.

Just as he had been when he'd shot that arrow at Sandy.

Sandy had dwelled on that ever since the battle ended. That Pitch would choose to attack Jack when all of the other guardians' backs were to him was... troubling. Pitch hated the Guardians, he'd hated them for centuries– he'd only just met Jack. Yet, when presented with the opportunity to strike a Guardian of his choosing, Pitch had been going for _Jack_.

Sandy hadn't let the scythe meet its mark. He'd tossed Pitch so far into the air that it took ages for him to find the ground again.

After the battle was over, and the five of them had flown back to the Pole in North's sleigh, Sandy had still been troubled. There was a stark difference from when Pitch had first encountered Jack at Tooth Palace and disregarded him as a minor annoyance, and when he'd chosen to attack Jack rather than his enemies that were centuries old.

So Sandy had endeavored to find out what had happened in between his disappearance, and his coming back.

Sandy had not liked what he'd found. Tooth's recount had not explained any of the discrepancies that Sandy was trying to find reason behind. There had been gaping holes in her story, and the other Guardians had all seemed to miss one thing: Jack would never have betrayed them like that.

Sandy didn't know how he knew that, but he did.

For Jack, the fact that he'd been alone for three-hundred years did not seem to factor into the equation because, when it came down to it, Jack acted on the pure goodness inside of him. That is not to say that Jack wasn't troubled, or damaged from those three-hundred years alone, it just said that his heart was pure, and in the right place, despite everything.

For Sandy, those three-hundred years grew heavier with every passing moment that he'd spent with the child. Something he hadn't felt in a long time had settled into his core as an immovable stone, and Sandy did not believe that it would ever be removable: guilt. Sandy knew the other Guardians felt it too. He could see it in their faces, even now. Especially now.

The only clue that Sandy had garnered from Tooth's story was when she mentioned his supposed demise. She'd explained how after Sandy had been... removed from the equation, Jack had been... furious. The display of Jack's power as he defeated _every single one_ of Pitch's nightmares must have been the spark of interest in Pitch's eyes.

Then Sandy had seen the memories, and things had begun to finally fall in place. Pitch had seen a kindred spirit in Jack, a possible ally, and Jack had turned him down. Jack's powers rivaled Pitch's own, and Jack had faced the same scorn and loneliness that Pitch had. Jack was a mirror of Pitch's abused, broken self.

But the thing about mirrors, is that the reflection is always reversed. Left is right. Bad is good. Contempt is forgiveness, and hate is love.

Because Jack had the only thing that you really need to be a good Guardian: he loved the children. And where there is love, there is an urge to protect.

In the simplest sense, Jack was the best candidate for Guardian out of all of them. Even though not one human had laid eyes on him in over three-hundred years, he still had the strength to _care_ so much...

Jack was the realest Guardian of them all.

And Pitch knew it, and Pitch _hated_ it, because Jack could have been like him. Angry and bitter at the world.

Everything suddenly made horrifying sense.

And Sandy knew that Pitch truly _hated_ Jack Frost.

And Sandy knew that Pitch would make Jack suffer for it.

"We need to find them, now," said Bunny. "Jack doesn't know that we're coming, so we need to get there as _soon as bloody possible_."

Tooth looked confused, "What do you mean he doesn't know we're coming?"

Bunny looked down, "Aw, you shoulda seen 'im Tooth. Pitch was tryin' to get to 'im, tryin' to convince him that we didn't care about 'im and that we wouldn't come for 'im. He denied it, but it sounded more like he was tryin' to convince 'imself. He doesn't trust us."

"And vhy should he?" asked North. "Ve have not been zhere for him."

"For three-hundred years, _nobody's_ been there for him," said Bunny. "He thinks he's on his own."

"Zhen let us prove him wrong, da?" said North, puffing out his chest and stalking forward with determination. His large hands twitched, eager to hold his swords.

"But where are they?" asked Tooth. "Where would Pitch have taken him?"

Bunny hopped over to the globe. "We know he didn't go to his lair in Burgess, that's the first place we'd look, and that's the first place I checked after he knocked me out–"

"Bunny!" Tooth exclaimed and was hovering over him instantly, "You were knocked out? Are you all right? Let me see," she said, reaching her hands towards him to check him over.

Bunny lightly pushed her hands away, "I'm fine, Tooth," he bit out, trying to keep his patience. "What are Pitch's other lairs? Which one is most likely?"

"Zhere are three others, that ve know about," said North, coming to stand next to Bunny to look at the globe. One in Egypt–"

Sandy shook his head, it was too far. Pitch would not make the trek when he knew the Guardians were looking for him. He would want to get underground as quickly as possible. Pitch could move fast with his shadows, but not as fast as the Guardians, and he couldn't do so if he had Jack with him. Shadow travel over great distances took no passengers, otherwise the cost would be too great.

"One in France–"

Sandy shook his head; again, too far.

"And one in Canada."

Sandy floated up with a burst of dream sand to make sure that his input was known.

"I agree vith Sandy," said North appreciatively, as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Canada seems best bet. Bunny?"

"Seems we're goin' ta Canada, mate."

"But what if we're wrong," said Tooth quietly in horror. "If he's not there... Should we split up, just in case–"

"No," Bunny instantly denied, "We ain't takin' any chances this time. Last time, I was alone, and I lost Jack. We look together, we find 'im together, and we bust 'im outta there, together."

"To ze sleigh!" exclaimed North.

There was a heavy weight on Sandy's heart when Bunny didn't protest.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Jack was sitting on the nightmare sand as it transported them north. He sat with his arms crossed and an eternal glare on the Nightmare King.

The son-of-a-bitch had gagged him with nightmare sand.

Jack was far from being in tip-top shape, and he didn't have his staff, but even without it Jack had proved himself able to drive even Pitch to drastic measures.

And Pitch had used a goddamn gag made out of sand as a counter.

Not fair.

Jack tried to keep himself under control. He couldn't afford to panic; he needed a coherent mind. He didn't know how hurt Bunny had been, so he couldn't count on getting any help from him. And he had no idea what the other Guardians were up to, they probably didn't even realize anything was wrong. Jack couldn't rely on outside help. He needed to get himself out of this, just like usual.

Accept this time, it wasn't a random pissed off spirit; it was the Boogeyman himself.

And this time, Jack didn't have his staff.

So the situation wasn't ideal, but hey, Jack could take care of himself.

Even if, this time, his head was pounding so hard that he could barely think.

With a lack of anything better to do, Jack reached up to again try and pry the sand away from his mouth but, just like the last eighteen times, his fingers couldn't get any purchase. He sighed through his nose, loudly, and Jack could see Pitch's fingers twitch. Jack smirked behind his gag. Even without words, Jack found it endlessly entertaining the ways that he could get under the Nightmare King's skin.

Jack sighed again.

Pitch kicked him in his side.

Jack's sigh abruptly turned into a groan of pain as he bent over and clutched at his ribs. _Damn, that hurt_, but it's not like there was anything else he could do.

_Uh, yeah there is,_ the rational part of his brain argued, _you could stop antagonizing him, for one. That would probably make things a lot less painful for you._

But Jack had never been a rational being.

And he knew that, no matter what he did, things were going to end up being hell for him, so he might as well enjoy it while he could, right?

Jack snorted a laugh through his gag, and Pitch's golden, nightmarish eyes found his. "Are you a masochist, Jack? Or are you just stupid? Tell me, I am dying to know."

Jack slowly and painfully got to his feet and walked right up to the Boogeyman. He stood up straight– _ouch, okay,_ as straight as he could, with his smarting ribs– And looked him in the eyes.

They stared at each other for a long time. Jack with an angry set to his eyebrows, and Pitch with the frown of a man whose patience was being _oh so very strongly _tested.

Then the nightmare sand underneath them slowed to a stop, and a smile slowly curled across Pitch's face, revealing his sharp, pointed teeth. "My, my," he simpered, "We're already here. How time flies when you're having _fun_."

Jack swallowed.

Pitch gestured his hand towards a cave-like structure in the middle of a pine forest. "After you, _Jack_. I do hope you brought a change of clothes, because things are about to get _very_ messy."

A/N: Please review! Also, for anyone who might be interested, I have recently started a YouTube channel. Check out my bio page for details. Please leave your feedback in a comment, as this is my first RotG fanfic. Thanks!


	3. Of Cruelty and Hope

Jack's hands were shaking. He shoved them into his hoodie pocket.

Jack had no idea where they were, but he did know that this lair was all too familiar. "You really need a new interior decorator," he said, frowning at the dark, shadowy walls and uneven floors. It was eerily similar to Pitch's lair in Burgess, and the memories that it was bringing back were not pleasant. "If you're gonna have more than one lair, you could make at least one of them nice."

Pitch had finally removed the sand from Jack's mouth upon entering the lair– probably in the hope that Jack might resign himself to his fear and perhaps even voice it aloud– Pitch was annoyingly disappointed.

"The floors aren't even straight. What's this supposed to be, a fun house? I appreciate the sentiment, but you didn't need dedicate your entire lair to me, I already know–"

Pitch spun around and grabbed Jack's arm in a death grip. "I believe you are misreading the situation you have put yourself in, Frost." Pitch's hold pulled Jack's hand from his hoodie, and Pitch's grin widened when he saw that it was shaking. "Then again, maybe you haven't. It's all just a front with you, isn't it, Jack? Putting on a mask, so that others won't see."

Jack stared back with defiance.

"It's all part of your M.O." Pitch eyed Jack's shaking hand with apparent fascination. "Tell me, Jack, have you spoken to the Guardians about the past three-hundred years, yet?"

Jack's gaze immediately hardened. "What are you getting at?" he asked in a low voice.

Pitch released Jack's arm and took a contemplative step back. He spoke in a mocking voice, "Well, those years are obviously a barrier between you and the relationship with the Guardians that you so crave."

Jack shifted uneasily, not knowing where Pitch was headed with this.

"Do you think you will tell them? About being alone. Or are you afraid that, if they find out how damaged you are, they will cast you aside just as they did before."

"I'm not damaged. Your mind games won't work on me, Pitch," said Jack angrily, furious and a little insulted that Pitch was trying this again. "Just get to the point."

"The point is, Jack, that you are a liar and a fool," said Pitch with barely restrained contempt, "You're lying to yourself, and you're lying to the Guardians."

"I'm not– I haven't lied about anything," Jack spluttered.

"You think the Guardians will suddenly be different from the ones you knew in the past now that you're one of them? The ones who scorned you. The ones who ignored you. They haven't changed, Jack. I meant what I said before. You are not one of them. You can't be."

"Shut up," snapped Jack, turning constantly to keep his eyes on Pitch, who had started circling him, like a lion would its prey.

"Even if they somehow grew to care for you, would you ever be able to return it? Would you ever be able to forget those three-hundred years? If you are willing to brush aside all of that time like it was nothing, then you truly are naive. That rabbit oaf that you're so worried about? He's the same rabbit who cast you aside on the infamous Easter of '68, who gossips with spirits about your immaturity and disregard for others. The Tooth Fairy? St. Nick? The Sandman? When did they ever even spare you a second glance? You think things are going to change now that you're a Guardian?"

Jack clenched his fists. "I told you, your mind games won't work."

Pitch lowered his voice in seriousness as he stopped circling, and instead began slowly advancing on Jack. "I think you're missing the point, here, Jack. I'm not playing games. The time for fun is over. I'm giving you an eye opener, so that when I finally break you apart, you will have nothing left. The truth is, the barrier between you and the Guardians is yourself."

Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Those three-hundred years tore you apart, and there is nothing left. You will never be able to forget. Those years will be like a cloud hanging over your heart until the day you die."

"I said shut up," said Jack angrily.

"You can't have a familial relationship with anyone, Jack, and it's not even their fault. It's yours."

Jack took a furious step forward. "Those three-hundred years were unforgettable. You're right about that," Jack's voice was strong in his anger, and Pitch had to do a double-take. "I will never forget. And I will always fear being alone, but you know what? I'm not a cold hearted, empty soul like you. I won't ever forget, but I can forgive them. And no, while I sure as hell haven't yet, I will one day. Because through all of this, Pitch, you missed one very important thing: the Guardians weren't intentionally cruel to me. They were ignorant and they were hurtful, but they were never cruel. No, I haven't forgiven them. But I reserve the right to do so, so you can just go to hell."

A darkness descended on Pitch then, and Jack knew that this time, playtime really was over. Something he had said had snapped the final, thin thread that was holding the Nightmare King together.

Pitch looked down on Jack with such pure and utter _hatred_ that Jack's breath caught in his throat. "This was a rather heated discussion, Jack," said Pitch, and there was deadly intent in that cold, velvet voice, "I think it's about time we _really_ turned up the heat."

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion, then fires began erupting along the walls of the room. They spread like slithering snakes along each wall, enclosing them in.

"What is this?" Jack breathed, suddenly nervous. He was already feverish, and now the roaring fires and the added heat of the heavy air around them seemed to press into his lungs. He had to take thick gulps of air, and they lingered in his chest and burned.

"Just getting rid of the draft," said Pitch lightly, but the malice behind the words sent a shiver up Jack's spine.

Jack's limbs felt weak, and fighting gravity had become a battle of wills. He struggled to stay upright. "You can't– This isn't– This won't accomplish anything." Jack grimaced, his words getting scrambled on the way from his mind to his mouth. He shook his head to try and clear it, but the heat was too heavy and permeated his very being. Jack suddenly stumbled, and fell to his knees. A thin, glassy sheet of ice cracked outward from where he landed that almost instantly melted into a running puddle that slowly crept across the uneven floor towards lower ground.

"And what exactly is it that I'm trying to accomplish, Jack?" asked Pitch as he stood over the winter spirit.

Jack opened his mouth, and closed it with a wince. His head pounded in time with his heart, and his ears wouldn't pop. Clarity settled upon Jack like the heat on his skin: there was no goal here. It was cruelty for cruelty's sake. He supposed he should have known that, considering Pitch had already proclaimed his reason simply being 'revenge,' but somehow Jack had thought there would be something else. Some other motive behind Pitch's actions.

There wasn't.

And the situation Jack was in suddenly seemed all too real.

And while, yes, Pitch was right, after three-hundred years alone, he should be able to take care of himself, and yes, the Guardians hadn't changed from who they were in the past few days, and they would probably be unconcerned by his absence, it's not like they were used to having him around– but Bunny knew, so maybe, (_maybe?_) he could hold out for a little bit of hope? If anything, the other Guardians would notice if the Easter Bunny went missing– Jack couldn't stop himself from wishing that the Guardians would come, because, if Jack was being completely honest, he didn't see himself getting out of this one.

Whenever Jack had dealt with angry spirits, they'd given him a rough time then been on their way, leaving him to nurse and recuperate.

Jack didn't see Pitch being quite so lenient.

And by the dangerous look on the Boogeyman's face, Jack knew that it hadn't even really started yet.

"You look troubled," said Pitch with lacy, fake concern that sounded so wrong coming from the Nightmare King's mouth, "Perhaps I should leave you for a while to... mull over your thoughts."

"No– Wait–"

Pitch backed up and vanished into the shadows, leaving Jack alone in the crooked gray room, the orange light of the fires dancing across the walls and ceiling. Jack struggled for his breaths, looking desperately around for Pitch, but the man had gone.

Jack felt the panic rising in his chest, and tried to push it down and _think_. He began crawling towards the center of the room, to get farther away from the closest wall of flame, but his limbs were heavy and weary, and his legs dragged behind him. He ended up sprawled on his stomach across the slanted gray floor, gasping for air. His hair was becoming plastered to his forehead with sweat, a sensation that he had never felt before and one he found that he did not particularly like. The sweat ran into cuts on his face from Pitch's rough treatment throughout the day, and Jack hissed as they stung. Jack ran his hand across his face in various places, trying to remove the sensation– and his hand came away with blood. His nose was bleeding again. He tasted copper in his mouth as it ran down and over his lips.

Lying on his chest was constricting Jack's breathing, so with a gargantuan heave of effort, he rolled himself onto his back. He had no more energy to move. He laid there, splayed on the floor, and he watched the shadows dance across the ceiling.

Pitch watched from the shadows. He had the room set up so that all of the smoke got sucked into his shadows, so Jack, and more importantly he, could breathe without difficulty. Well, less difficulty, in Jack's case. The Guardian of Fun did not seem to be handling the overload of heat so well.

Jack felt comfortable in his element. Pitch was stripping that away first.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

"Pitch!" Bunny roared, "I'm givin' ya one second ta hand over Jack ya sick son-of-a–"

"Bunny," said Tooth, and something in her voice had Aster freezing where he stood. "They're not here."

Bunny's ears twitched. "What?"

"They're not here," Tooth said again, sinking to the floor as she choked back tears.

Bunny took a second to actually look around after barging in, weapons blazing–

Pitch's Canada lair was empty.

No Pitch.

And more importantly, no Jack.

North swore and sheathed his swords.

Sandy's hands tightened into fists.

Tooth slumped to the ground.

But Bunny would not be satisfied with a simple sigh of defeat. Aster let out a cry of rage and frustration as he spun around and kicked a small, black cage similar to the ones the tooth fairies had been held captive in Jack's memories. His powerful rabbit legs shot the cage across the room with several, cacophonous echoing clangs. The other Guardians all jumped, but Bunny couldn't find it within himself to care that he'd scared them. He spun to one of the slanted walls and slammed his fist against it– and the gray wall seemed to leech the energy out of him. His ears drooped, and he fell to his knees hopelessly.

"Bunny," sighed Tooth, as she fluttered over and put an arm around his furry shoulders–

But Aster shrugged her off. He thought of '68, and every meeting Bunny'd had with the winter spirit since. Each encounter, Bunny had been bitter, short, and impatient. He'd used every opportunity that presented itself to put Jack down. Even when Jack had become a Guardian, Bunny had wasted no time striking where it hurts.

_"But none of 'em believe in you. Do they? You see, you're invisible, mate. It's like you don't even exist." _

Bunny knew what hits hurt Jack the most, and he'd used that to his advantage. If you wanted to hurt Jack Frost, you'd jibe about his lack of believers, or his three-hundred years of solitude. Everyone knew that. Bunny did it. Other spirits certainly did it. _Pitch_ did it.

What did Jack think of him, Aster wondered.

_"Aww, you do care."_

Sarcastic words, like Jack believed that Bunny _didn't_.

Okay, so maybe, Bunny hadn't cared, before. Maybe Bunny had been aiming to hurt, but Bunny hadn't known... If he had known, he wouldn't have...

_"We _never_ should have trusted you." "Rack off, ya bloody show pony." "He's an irresponsible, selfish..." "Jack Frost is many things, but he is _not_ a Guardian." "He has to go." _

"He must think I hate him," Bunny whispered.

Tooth knelt down next to him. "Bunny, no, I'm sure he doesn't–"

"It would serve me right, I think," he said, ignoring Tooth's undeserved kind words. "For him to hate me back."

"Jack doesn't hate you, Bunny," said North wearily, "Is clear as day. He likes you. And ve all know you don't hate him. You are... rough with your care, but zhat is just type of person you are."

Bunny looked up, "Yeah, but Jack doesn't know that, does he?"

"Now, of all times, is not time to lose hope," said North. "You especially, Bunny."

Sandy created an image of a snowflake and a carrot, (with legs?) walking along together in contentment.

Bunny smiled at the sentiment. "I do care," he nodded.

_"Aww, you do care."_

"I do care, damn-it."

"Zhen let us get him back," exclaimed North, "And you can tell him all zhis!"

"But," sniffed Tooth, "We don't know where they are."

"Zhen let us find zhem! It vill be like collecting zhe teeth! Ve are Guardians! Ve will search zhe world if ve have to! Ve do zhe impossible every year– Let us do it tonight!"

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Jack felt groggy and weak.

Pitch materialized out of the shadows, looking content.

"Go 'way," Jack murmured, still laying on his back and surrounded by fire, lacking the strength to move.

Pitch tutted, "Now, now, Jack, that simply won't do. Where'd all that energy go?"

Jack blinked.

"It was boundless a little while ago. What, you're not feeling the urge to insult me? The way I dress, perhaps?"

Jack eyed him through narrow lids, before complying, just to piss him off. "Y' look like a..." he swallowed, "You look like a dork."

There was a strange light in Pitch's eyes as he snapped his fingers, and the fires died.

Jack looked up at him with a suspicious glare. "What're you... what's..."

"Concerned?" asked Pitch. "Good."

"M' not concerned. M' jst... jst curious."

Pitch grinned. "I never dreamed you would be effected so much by the fires. Had I known... Our previous battles might have ended somewhat differently."

Jack chuckled in fevered amusement, "No they wouldn't."

Pitch's eyes darkened. "You insolent little–"

"Yeah, whatever, Pitch," said Jack, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion, "Heard it once, heard it twice, I've heard it all before. As if you could say anything that I haven't heard before."

"From the Easter Rabbit, no doubt."

Jack's eyes snapped open and he glared. "Among others," he admitted. "You keep trying to turn me against the Guardians."

"Not turn against," denied Pitch as he summoned his nightmare sand almost lazily, "Just trying to get it through your head that they're not coming for you."

The sand curled under Jack's prone form and around his chest before lifting him into the air and level with Pitch like a doll. Jack had no energy left to struggle. The sand put an uncomfortable pressure on Jack's ribs.

"What, nothing to say?" asked Pitch, almost pityingly.

Jack looked away, "Not really."

Pitch motioned for the sand to fling Jack into a wall. Jack gave out a strangled cry as the back of his head collided with stone.

"How about now," Pitch said dangerously.

"Nothing appropriate," Jack ground out through gritted teeth.

"Such a vile thing, hope."

"What now?" Jack asked past his pounding head. He looked a mess. He had bruises and dried blood on his face, his hair was still matted flat on his head with sweat, there was black dirt marring his pale skin and white hair, and Pitch thought he saw a trickle of red on the back of his neck when Jack lowered his head. The blow against the wall had him bleeding.

"Hope," Pitch continued, unconcerned. "All it really does is prolong torment. I thought I'd be generous–"

Jack scoffed–

"And take it away. The Guardians aren't coming. If they were, don't you think they would be here by now? Let it go, Jack. Hope won't get you anything. Not here."

"I may not have that many people who care for me," breathed Jack through the sharp throbbing of his head, "But it is winter, somewhere. Someone will notice. If anything, Mother Nature, at least, will go looking–"

Pitch advanced on Jack with a ferocity that had Jack flinching violently. "Do not mention _her_ while you're in my presence," he snarled.

Jack looked at Pitch, interest piqued, but so was his self-preservation (as little of it that he had) which only went to say how bad things were. At least he wasn't locked in a cell strapped in manacles. You know things are rough when that's the silver lining.

"I thought I was the only one who inspired that kind of fury from you," said Jack with hard-pressed refrained curiosity. "What did she do? Don't tell me. Was _she_ your interior decorator? You have every right to be angry, Pitch, but I think even this takes it a bit–"

Okay, so perhaps continuing with his line of thought hadn't been the smartest thing he'd ever done– nor had it been the dumbest, but that was beside the point– because it sent Pitch into a rage.

The black sand threw him across the room where he landed on the crooked floor in a heap. Before Jack could regain his senses, Pitch was standing above him, with something like madness glinting in his eyes– and he stepped down– _hard_– on Jack's right forearm. The uneven ground and the angle at which Jack was laying did what the act of aggression alone would not have been capable.

Jack felt it before he heard it. He'd broken bones before, so he was all too familiar with that sound, but for it to be attributable to such a raw act of violence had him reeling a bit in shock.

_Had Pitch just–?_

Jack let out a strangled cry of suffering and– _yup, there's the pain_– but Pitch was relentless. He reached down and grabbed Jack by the arm– his newly broken one and holy shit _ow ow ow motherfu_– and lifted him into the air by it.

Jack was crying out in pain, the reality around him blurring for a moment by the sheer force of it. It had been a long time since he'd felt pain like this. Not pain of the heart, but pain of the body. That physical, weakening, hurting, blinding pain–

Jack opened his eyes to find himself eye-to-eye with Pitch. The Boogeyman held him off the ground easily. Jack swallowed as he choked back a whimper. The agony that radiated down his arm and permeated his very being had Jack tasting bile at the back of his throat–

"You are trying my patience, Frost. I believe I told you," said Pitch in a voice that shook in his wrath, "_Not..._ to mention her."

Pitch's grip tightened on Jack's arm and Jack cried out– tears escaped the sides of his tightly clenched eyes– and his stomach rolled.

Jack threw up.

All down Pitch's robe.

Jack couldn't force his head upward, or his eyes to Pitch's face, but he _felt_ the glare, the pure animosity and hatred, because, really, Jack Frost did _not_ just vomit on the Boogeyman. Jack, in his delirium, choked out a laugh that was half a sob, but he knew that Pitch had heard the mirth, even if it was masked by gasping and tears.

Well done, Jack, now you can skip the torture and move straight on to death. Way to go. Good on you.

"That," said Pitch slowly, deliberately, "Was _unforgettable_, Jack. But I, unlike you, aren't the forgiving type."

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

"This has to be it," Bunny remarked, staring at the cave entrance.

"There were an alarming number of Nightmares in this area," agreed Tooth, a little breathless.

"An' it smells like Jack," said Bunny, sniffing the air again, as if afraid the scent would disappear.

"Ve must be careful, no?"

"Yeah," said Bunny darkly, "Lemme just carefully detach Pitch's limbs from his body."

Sandy frowned and a series of pictures formed over his head. A carrot was attacking the shadowy form of Pitch while a snowflake slowly grew smaller, and seemingly _withered_ away and–

"All right, all right, I get it, Sandy, I get it," barked Bunny. "Jack comes first. But if the opportunity presents itself, I'm gonna–"

"No time for threats, Bunny," said North in exasperation, "Jack has been in there alone with Pitch long enough, yeah?"

"Time ta give the litta Frostbite some long needed company," said Bunny, and if the other Guardians noticed Bunny's tight voice at the duality the sentence could hold, they did not mention it.

The four of them entered Pitch's lair– located in Canada, of all places, just not in the lair they had known about (apparently, Pitch had more than one Canadian lair, who knew) and they were thrust into unnatural darkness.

They seemed to be on the right track.

Though the heat that instantly assaulted them did not bode well.

A/N: Leave a review if you would like to see more! I am really loving this story!


	4. Faux Immortality

Aster tensed, his grip on his boomerang had his palm aching, but he refused to relax. Every sound, every whisper of an echo, and Bunny's ears twitched. The scurry of a rats nails over there– Bunny spun on the spot– the wisp of some nightmare sand in the breeze of a draft in the other direction– Bunny jumped around, hand poised to throw–

"Bunny," said Tooth, looking worriedly at the Pooka.

Sandy sent a tendril of golden sand forward to light their way. The light was unnatural in this place. The shadows receded, slowly, angrily, like an ooze that was being forced to leave. The shadows danced and felt alive, and Sandy had a feeling that Pitch might possibly already know of their arrival.

"I don't like this," growled Bunny quietly, spinning around again. They came to a cavernous room, and Bunny's senses went wild. He unconsciously took a step back at the smells that assaulted him all at once when he reached the entrance– _Jack_, _Pitch_, smoke, fear, blood, bile, vomit–

Bunny's hair ruffled, it was like he had an itch all over his body, he sat back on his haunches and shuddered, his left leg thumping the floor in his discomfort.

"Bunny?" inquired North, looking cautiously at the shuddering rabbit.

"They were here," Aster ground out as the feeling of nausea and something crawling under his fur passed. He hopped forward, slowly, cautiously. The room was _hot_, to the point that the stone floor at his feet was actually uncomfortable under his paws.

"Aw, Jack," Bunny breathed, "What did he do to ya, ya gumby?"

"There's blood..." Tooth's voice cracked as she saw what Bunny had already known. There was a dark, dried up trickle on the near wall, and a few small splatters on the floor. Almost unnoticeable.

Bunny tried to take comfort in the fact that there really wasn't that much blood, but found that he couldn't.

"Let's keep movin'," said Bunny tightly as he followed the scent, "There's still time."

Time for what, Bunny did not know. Time to fix this? Time to stop it? Time to apologize?

Maybe all of those things?

There was a waterfall of fear in Bunny's heart that he was wrong.

That they were out of time.

That they had been, for centuries.

_Please, let there be time. _

But Bunny knew that Pitch was not a patient man. He never had been.

Well, neither was Bunny.

Bunny moved faster.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

"What is this place?" Jack croaked.

Pitch grinned at him from across the black water, his form reflected eerily off the surface. "An underground spring."

Jack looked at the water and swallowed. Visibility in the water was a flat zero.

"I've... learned something about you, Jack," said Pitch, musing from his side of the small pool of water in the barely lit cave. "Through our encounters."

"Yeah?" said Jack, wary. "What's that?"

"The Man in the Moon must really care about you. That, or you're a really important pawn of his. Either way. Whichever one strikes your fancy."

Jack's gaze sharpened. "What gives you that idea?" Jack's laugh was short, hollow, and bitter. The Man in the Moon had only spoken to him once. That one time, over three-hundred years ago. And apparently, he talked to others. He talked to North, and the Guardians, but not to Jack. Never to Jack.

"There's something about you, Frost, that stands you apart from _everybody else_."

Jack groaned in irritation. Standing on his own two feet was a battle that he was slowly _losing_, and Pitch was trying to alienate him, _again_. Jack hadn't thought that Pitch was low enough to drag the Moon into this, but apparently he was wrong.

"Not those three-hundred years, no– though those certainly don't help– It's what the Man in the Moon did to _save_ you."

"Save me?" Jack asked with narrowed eyes.

"You're not afraid of the water," Pitch stated.

Jack stayed silent.

"You're afraid of drowning. More so than you should be, because this particular fear of yours is all too vivid, accompanied by experience. An experience, not of _drowning_, but of having _drowned_."

Jack leaned his back against the wall behind him, simultaneously fighting the spinning in his head and the fear in his gut.

"Past tense. Out of all of the spirits, even the Guardians, you are the only one, the _only_ one, Jack, to have died before becoming a spirit."

Jack felt a cold pit form in his stomach.

"The Man in the Moon broke all of the rules, for you. So either you are very special, or he simply cared too much. Personally," Pitch breathed, a touch of malice entering his words, "I couldn't care less either way. You drowned. You died. And now, thanks to those wonderful memories, you remember drowning."

"How–?" said Jack.

"Please," said Pitch, "Don't insult my intelligence, Jack. You didn't have this fear until after you got a hold of your memories. It wasn't that difficult to figure out. Just another thing that sets you apart from the Guardians. And, well, everyone else, really. How did it feel, hmm? The cold. The dark. The water getting stuck in your lungs as you tried to breathe–"

"Stop it."

An air of accomplishment formed around Pitch. "My apologies," he said, sounding sincere, and it made Jack's skin crawl, "The memory must be painful for you."

Jack eyed the black pool of water in front of him again. "Why are we here, Pitch?" His voice was soft, afraid, and Pitch breathed it in.

"I'm not going to kill you."

Jack gave a soft huff. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

Pitch curled a slow grin. "It wasn't supposed to."

Jack, with his back against the wall, let himself slide down it to the floor. He was running out of energy, out of time, and he wasn't in any better situation than he was when he was first captured. So much for getting himself out of this, he couldn't even stand on his own two feet.

"Are you going to make me go in there?"

Pitch put a hand to his face, as if he were thinking, as if he didn't already have this all planned out. Jack didn't know why he asked. He knew the answer.

"You aren't immortal, Jack," said Pitch suddenly, and Jack looked up. "None of us are. Though, if anyone were to know this, I suppose it would be you. You've been hurt before. You know that we can be hurt, and where there is hurt– where there is _pain_– there is death."

Jack just watched, warily. The Nightmare King had a strange look in his eyes, and Jack found himself wondering if the Boogeyman ever had nightmares.

"Immortality is a hoax. We are stronger than humankind. We laugh in the face of passing time. And yet, if death were to reach into your chest and clutch your heart in his fist, your life would fail." A small smirk appeared on Pitch's pale lips, "Again."

"So you're not really immortal," Jack grunted through his wavering consciousness, "Deal with it."

Pitch's entire countenance darkened, and he approached Jack's slouched form with haste. He knelt down next to the boy and gripped him by his snow white hair, forcing Jack to look into those burning, golden eyes. "I'm not going to kill you," he said again.

"Yeah, and what do you want, a thank you letter?" Jack asked through gritted teeth as he felt some of his hairs be torn from his scalp.

"You insufferable–" Pitch stood abruptly, dragging Jack with him along with a sharp cry of pain as he was forced to his feet by his hair. Pitch began pulling Jack towards the black pool of water, and some of the haze in Jack's mind cleared as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

Jack struggled despite the pain that wracked his body. Every jostle from the Boogeyman wracked through Jack's arm with a violent vengeance. He could barely think past the pounding of his head, but there was one thought that even the pain could not dull:

_I'm not going in there._

But his struggles were no more effective now than they were when Pitch had first gotten his hands on him.

"No," Jack hissed, "Stop–"

"The time for talking is over," growled Pitch. "You mock and you poke your fun, and now you will drown again."

The first stumbled step into the water kick started Jack's heart. His breathing was harsh and uncontrolled, and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that panicking was the worst thing that he could possibly be doing in this situation. The splashes echoed throughout that horrible dark cave like a song– his _death's_ song– and Jack again remembered hearing that song once before– as his sister cried his name–

_"Jack!"_

The water was to Jack's waist when his head, and by consequence the rest of him, was forced under.

It was with a terrifying realization that the cold water slapped his face: he hadn't had time to draw a breath. For a short moment, everything slowed down. He could feel every beat of his heart pound against his chest. He watched with a detached amazement as small, clear bubbles left his mouth and rose to the surface. He felt Pitch's nails digging into his scalp where he held him down. He registered how _cold_ the water was against his skin, and that was what knocked him out of it as his fear reached a new level because being cold was a sensation that he had not felt in a very long time.

Blackness began creeping in from somewhere, and he struggled– of _course_ he did– but his heart was beating too quickly for the lack of oxygen in his system, and the desperate gasp that escaped him was his psychological undoing. Rationality. Common sense. Pride. All gone. The moment the ice cold water hit his lungs, Jack's mind went haywire.

He panicked. He well and truly panicked.

He could not do this again.

Then there was pressure on his head, and Jack felt cold air assault his skin as he was lifted back out of the water.

Instantly Jack began expelling an absurd amount of water from his lungs and his mouth with agonizing, great gasps and coughs–

Before he was submerged again.

This time Jack inhaled instantly upon entering the water, as his lungs were still desperately trying to replenish oxygen to his blood as well as expel the alarming amount of carbon dioxide that had built up in his body. His body was weakening at an alarming rate. For a short amount of time, the adrenaline had given Jack some of his strength back. It had long since faded.

Jack dazedly felt his clothes hampering his movements as they clung to his skin, even as Pitch's ever steady grip held him under. A strange ringing began to fill his ears. The cold permeated every inch of his body. It soaked through his clothes and underneath his skin and into his very blood.

_He's killing me,_ Jack realized belatedly through the dark haze. And for some reason, Jack was surprised that Pitch had lied about that.

Jack's last thought before the unforgiving darkness stole him was of his words to Pitch, _I can forgive them. And no, while I sure as hell haven't yet, I will one day,_ and of his sorrow and regret that he would not live long enough to do so.

xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx

Bunny was the first to arrive.

Pitch stood alone in a black pool at the center of the cavern.

His boomerangs had left his hands before he even consciously realized that he was going to throw them.

A sandy, black nightmare whinnied as it intercepted the blow.

The boomerangs tore the structure from the sand where it fell, formless, to the ground below, but the weapons joined the sand on the floor. They clattered to the rock ground with an echo as the other Guardians joined him at his sides.

"Finally," purred Pitch, "I was beginning to think that I might actually kill the brat. He is... infuriating."

It was then that Bunny saw what Pitch was holding in the water.

Things then happened very quickly. Bunny let out an inhuman scream of rage and darted forward with a speed only a Pooka could achieve. The Boogeyman threw his head back and laughed, before disappearing in the shadows of the black depths of the water. Jack began to sink.

Pitch appeared behind the Sandman with a weapon of black sand, and struck.

Sandy whirled around with an anger on his face that struck fear into the Nightmare King himself and fought back, viciously. North drew his swords, and Tooth flitted forward with her wings that cut like razors.

Bunny jumped desperately into the water, wading deeper and deeper as he searched the impenetrable blackness. When he ran into something solid, his heart nearly stopped. He reached down with ginger paws and grasped Jack by the hoodie. He gently began heaving him out of the water. He laid Jack down on his back on the cold, unforgiving, hard stone floor of the cavern. Something like a whine escaped from the Pooka, and Pitch nearly got a blow in on North when the big man's attention was pulled from the fight.

"Bunny!" North ordered as he blocked the blow with a grunt, "Status on Jack."

Bunny's paws hovered. His ears heard the boy's heart, but not his breath. He desperately pressed Jack's chest with wide eyes and–

Water began spilling out of that small, pale mouth. Bunny gently turned Jack onto his side as the boy vomited violently, expelling water with gut wrenching coughs as his body shook and trembled.

"He's alive," Bunny called, the cold relief spreading throughout his body made him weak in the knees.

The relief was short lived as the coughs and gasps became sobs. Bunny pulled the boy into his arms wherein Jack promptly curled one of his fists into Aaster's soft fur. "Bunny..." Jack choked, his small, lithe form trembling. "Bunny... Bunny... Bunny..." He kept saying it, like he couldn't believe it, repeating it like a goddamn mantra–

The anger that Bunny had been holding back began to fill his heart.

There were shouts of surprise from behind him, and Bunny turned to see Tooth and North attacking empty space. Sandy's eyes were narrowed and scanning the room before widening as they caught on something behind bunny. The little golden man pointed fearfully and Bunny spun around again to see Pitch, standing tall and proud, if a little winded, looking down at the child in his arms.

Bunny took an immediate step back and curled his arms around the boy, trying to block him from view.

"Don't get your fur all tied into a knot, Rabbit," said Pitch, smirking, "I think I'm done with him for now. He's free to go."

Bunny glared, tightening his hold on Jack.

"What did ya do to 'im?" Bunny growled.

"_Do_ to him?" asked Pitch, sounding amused, "We had a nice long talk. It was very... illuminating."

Bunny ground his teeth.

"Didn't you hear me?" Pitch's voice darkened, "I said he's free to go. Now, take him, before I change my mind. My intention was never to kill him."

"You were drowning him," sad Tooth, materializing beside bunny, her eyes bright with an electric rage.

Pitch's eyes moved lazily to her. "That was really his own fault. The kid doesn't know when to shut his mouth. I must admit, I may have gotten carried away. Speaking of which, I wouldn't let him fall asleep, if I were you. I don't think that he would wake up."

"Vhy are you letting him go?" North asked with venom. "Vhy do you care vhether he lives or dies–"

"Caring has nothing to do with it," Pitch snarled. "That child is the very bane of my existence. I despise him more than I do you."

Sandy looked troubled.

"Enough with the silent questions, Sandman," said Pitch through gritted teeth, "As I said, Jack and I... talked. Either stay and question me further so I lose my self control and call my nightmares to kill the brat, though I would much rather wring his neck myself, or take the opportunity to leave. Your choice. But I am getting impatient."

Bunny wanted nothing more than to kick Pitch's butt into next week.

But Jack was still trembling.

And his breathing was uneven and shallow at best.

And his skin burned with fever.

Bunny turned and began walking away, being careful to keep each step as gentle as possible. "Screw you, Pitch."

Tooth retrieved Bunny's boomerangs from the ground before following. North turned away as well. Sandy lingered a while longer.

His eyes searched Pitch's for some explanation other than he and Jack had a 'talk.' Sandy did not see reason in the Boogeyman's eyes. He saw confusion, and rage, and hate, and power–

And Sandy understood. And it sickened him.

Pitch was instilled with so much power that it was more than likely he could have just taken on all of the Guardians and won. Whatever he had done to Jack had caused the Guardian of Fun's fear to be ratcheted up to an all-time high, and Pitch was drunk off of the power that it gave him. Children gave them all their strength. Children's' fears fueled the Nightmare King.

The fears of an immortal child...

This just opened up an entire new array of possibilities for Pitch.

Sandy understood that it had just become imperative that Pitch never get his hands on Jack again.

Sandy turned away and followed the others out of the lair.

The Guardians loaded themselves into the sleigh somehow feeling heavier than they had when they'd arrived.

Jack began to slump in Bunny's arms, and the Pooka panicked. "No, no–no–no, Jack, hey, ya gotta stay awake, buddy, c'mon, mate." Bunny reached forward to wipe the sopping wet hair from Jack's forehead.

Jack grimaced and batted Bunny's paw away weakly, "Why d'you care?" Jack slurred.

Bunny stopped cold.

_Aw, you do care_.

"O'course I care, Jack," Bunny said softly, his voice choking a little. "C'mon, ya gumby, o'course I care."

North took the reins and they took to the sky.

Jack opened his blue eyes, which were dulled by fever, as was the filter to his mouth. "Does th' moon?"

Bunny blinked. "What?"

"Man In the Moon," Jack clarified wearily, "Does he care? Or was Pitch right?"

"Pitch wasn't right," Bunny automatically shot back. "Don't ya believe anythin' he said, all right?"

"Does he talk to you?" asked Jack, delirious and in pain.

"Who, Pitch?" asked Bunny.

"The Moon."

"Yeah," said Bunny slowly, unsure as to where this was going.

"To Tooth? North'n Sandy?"

Bunny nodded.

Jack nodded to himself, as if confirming something. By Jack's expression, Bunny was sure that he probably wouldn't like it.

Bunny had never seen Jack like this. They needed to get Jack back to the Pole, and fast. The fever was disorienting the youngest Guardian to the point that he no longer had any control over what came out of his mouth.

"I think that you're wrong," said Jack softly, cringing as his broken arm throbbed.

Bunny's blood ran cold. "About what?" he asked, his mouth dry.

"I think that Pitch was telling the truth," said Jack, "About a lot of things."

Bunny knew that he shouldn't take advantage of Jack like this. Jack wasn't an open person. If he were in his right mind, he would not be in such a sharing mood. But Pitch could have said anything to Jack. And Jack's eyelids kept drooping; if Aster didn't keep the boy talking, he may fall into a sleep that he could very well not return from. Jack was not in good shape, and Bunny knew it.

"What was Pitch right about, Jack?" Bunny prompted softly, hating himself a little bit.

"The Moon," said Jack. Some life entered back into Jack's eyes, as if he knew that he didn't want to be talking about this. Or that he _shouldn't_ be. "Bunny."

"Yeah?" Bunny answered.

"Why did you all ignore me for three-hundred years?"

Bunny stilled, his hold on Jack growing stiff. Bunny felt an eavesdropping Tooth freeze next to him as well– he only heard North's light curse because of his large ears– and he would bet his boomerangs that Sandy was listening in as well. Bunny found himself wishing that North would just use one of his snow globes so that they could just arrive at the Pole and skip this conversation. But they had opted out of the snow globe when they had come to the grim realization that being _"tossed through a magic portal_" may be more detrimental to Jack's health than they could afford.

"Never mind," said Jack's soft voice as he curled into Bunny's fur, "I just... I want to forgive you. I want to prove Pitch wrong. But I just... I can't. Not yet. Maybe Pitch is right. Maybe I won't ever... Naive, he called me."

"Jack," Bunny began, completely unsure of what to say.

"What did I do wrong?" Jack whispered.

Bunny found himself unable to answer.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Please review; let me know what you like. This chapter gave me lots of trouble, but I think I'm finally okay with it.


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